bentley



y 20, 1930- I P. A. BENTLEY 1,759,295

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 21,1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I May 20, 1930. P. A. BENTLEY 1,759,295

CIRCULAR KNITTING MAdHINE Filed D90. 21,1926 7 3 Sheets-Shea}. 2

I I 154w. 11

1311/4: ntof."

May 20, 1930.

P. A. BENTLEY 1,759,295

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 21, 1926 s Sheet-Sheet s Inna/was) i Patented May 20, 1930 "VT-UNITED." STATES PATENT omes rnncxvar. an'rmrn BENTLEY, ontnrcns'rnn, nnemm) cmcULAn-xmrrme MACHINE' 11 an nm 21,1926, 8.5.1. 1... 156,190, andinvGreat Britain December :1, 1925.

This invention comprises improvementsin .x .or relating to circular kmttmg mach-mes Iandhas particular, althou h. not exclusive reference to double cylin er knitting ma- I in combination with the yarn-feed operating 50 meansas above of automatically erable chines" adapted forthe production of ribbed fabrics. I p

The object of the invention is to furnish an improved mode of and improved means for I operating and controlling the relative dis 19 placement of a 'lurality' of yarn feeds to themachineneed esso'a'sto vary the relative positions of the yarnsatfthe time of laying same upon the needles and by sojdoingvdetermine which of said yarns appears in'or at the front of-the fabric.

Heretofore, it has been customary to ef fect the relative movement of the arn feeds directly from a travelling chain having raised links or elements incorporated there- 20 in. It has been found, however, that operation from a chain in this manner does not result in a consistently accurate operationof the yarn. feeds, "and the improvements incorporated in. the present invention function primarily to produce a more positive operation of said feeds andby so doing ensure a continuously accurate control of said feeds-and consequently the production of accurateresults in the fabric.

A feature of the present invention consists in the'provision in a circular knitting machine of a cam drum or'the-like for controlling the relative movement and dis 'osition of a plurality of displaceable yarn eeds 85 in combination with another or main control drum, chain or other source which functions to render the first'named drum opera tive or inoperative and to determine the operative and inoperative periods thereof.

40 Another feature of the invention consists in providing upon the drum which operates the yarn feeds a pluralit of cam members, one of which functions 't rough suitable intervening mechanism to change the relative positions'of the movable yarn' feed members,

.while anothercam serves at predetermined intervals to returns'aid feeds to their normal vvposition.

A furtherfeature resides in the provision means for holding the yarn feed mem ers in their displaced position prior to the return thereof to the normalposition.

,Another feature resldes in eifectin the 5;, operation and control of the yarn feefcontrol drum from the main control 1 drum,

chain or the like or cam through the intermediary of an'additional rotating cam dea vice. Further features are included in the construction, arrangement and mode of operationhereinafter more fully described.

For the purpose of more fully describin the nature. of this inventionreference wil now bem'ade to the accompanying drawings wherein 3 Y Fig. I is an elevational view of yarn feed operating and controlling mechanism in accordance with this invention.

Fig. II is an elevationalview of a part of a main control drum and means associated therewith, such view forming a continuation of Fig. I; I p

Fig. III is a plan view of part of the mech- 7'5 anism shown in Figure I.

Figure IV is an elevational view looking in the direction of arrow A in Figure I. Figure V is a detail view of cams employed in the invention. 30

Figure VI is a detail view of the pattern drum check wheel device.

controlled'by travelling chain, has coacting with its circumferential face the one end 0 a r0d-2 hereinafter called the control rod,

said to being caused by rises and falls on the control drum to move longitudinally in both directions. The effective length of the control rod is ad'ustable by nuts 3 coacting with right and le hand screw threads on the rod, which is formed in two arts. The other end of this control rod (w ich rod is preferably horizontal =operates upon fl'PlVOtGd member 4 (Figs. and IV) which in turn coacts with a displaceable. cam follower 5 to move same into and out of contact with-a cam 6 carried by a rotating cam shaft 7. When this follower 5 is in contact with the cam 6, pawl and ratchet mechanism is actuplating drum.

ated to rotate intermittently and preferably to the extent ofo'ne tooth per'revolution, a:

drum 8 which will be termed the pattern or a nose 9 which coacts with the main drum 1.

The pivoted member 4 at the other end of the control rod is'of' forkedsha'pe'and has a depending pin '4 (Fig; IV) ,by which same is rotatably mounted within a'suitable hole in a bar or'plate 12 rigidly fixed to the ma-,

chine frame, or part thereon. ClThe control rod may be connected to said rotatable membet- 4 by fixing an eye portion 2 terminating lateral lug 13'on saidmember 4.

The cam 6' on the shaft 7 may be in the nature of an eccentric, and the arrangement. is such that when the member 4'is partially rotated, which movement occurs when the crank lever 9 rises upon a cam rise '1" on the main drumLl-the follower is swung later-v alll y from engagement with an idling part 6" i hi the cam on to the cam proper 6.

is position is maintained so long as the, lever 9 of the control rod remains u on the main drum rise 1, and while the'folower is g. V) of V ositioned same 0 crates u .on'the'lower en of a vertically guided slida 1c in or itappet 14 to reciprocate saidtappet an pivotally displace asmallleverj15 carrying a springpressed pawl 16 which ismaintained invengagement with the teeth of a ratchet wheel 17 fixed to rotate with thepattern drum 8. In this way the drum 8 is intermittently rotatedor racked. Preferably the tappet 14 coacts. with the lever 15v-through an adjustable screw element15'.

A suitable check wheel: 18 may installed upon this pattern or plating. drum 8, said wheel having circumferential teeth or notches with which engages a spring-influenced pin or element 19, Fig. VI, for retaining the drum 8 from'movement in each direction be and definite limits at eachracking motion 2 Fig. VI). The teeth or notches of the check wheel are of shape, the element 19 having a correspondingly shaped point or nose. Advantageously the element 19 is adjustable both,

longitudinally and verticall upon a flattened I a spring frame and serves to pull the element 19 down ontothewheellS. y .e v On the pattern or plating drum 8 are two cams 22, 23, which willbe desi nated the first and second cams, and upon the, periphcry ofthe first cam 22 bears an adjustable element 24. carried by the one arm of a pivoted vertically disposed two-armed lever- 24.

When'a rise on the said firstcam 22 pivotally f displaces said lever 24,,the latteroperates to move a second cam follower or lever 25 in to we the track of a'second cam 26 on. the beforess I mentioned cam shaft 7, said follower'25 being raisedby said cam 26 andactingupon a vertically guided sliding pin or} tapjpet 27 to change t e relativeposition of the yarn'feedsr The second cam follower"25 is preferably I connected. to fa forked pi-voted member 128 insertedfwithin the'bar12. The lower arm 7 lateral pin 28 on the member'28. or same may be suitably connected thereto; andwhere the "lever is not "positively connected to said pin, spring 'meansare providedfor maintainn the-two inengagemenh;

(Fig.' IV) in -a mannersim'ilar tofthatde-Y scribed with reference' totheffollower 5, a

pin' 28'jof the member '28 being rotatably' =j of lever 24 maybe adapted to-bearl pQ i a I said rod on to a pin projecting uplfrom' a PPl'oved type pivot'ally orslidably mounte are'prefera y Y standing arm'31 of a centrally pivoted crank lever, the lower arm 32 of saidcrank extending approximately" horizontallyf and'being acted u on by thejaforesaid sliding pin 27, V 'prefera 1y through the medium of anvadjjustable screw element 33 carried by said arm. .32.

. When this arm 32 of the crank is raised to {change the feeds, a catch'member' 34 automatically operates to move beneath saidarm and retain same and the feeds 29, 30' in. the placed position] until thesecond cam 23 onthe pattern or plating drum 8 operates upon a second adjustable element 35'! carriedv by another pivoted vertically disposed twoarmed lever 35 to fdisplacesaid lever on its pivot and withdraw the catch 34=from be neath the arm 32. v 'Preferably the lever 35 is normally reboth operat di p yt P- tained in position with the adjustable ele- When arise oil-the cam 22 actsto displace I the follower 25 said follower is moved from an idling part 26 on the-cam shaft 7 on to the cam roper 26, the latter preferably being a-hal -roundcam, i. e. 180, On the withdrawalof catch 34 from thearm 32, the feeds return to their normal position under spring influence.

g The arms 31, 32 appertainingto the yarn feeds are conveniently connected'by a part rotatably mountedwithin a sleeve 37 an additional arm 39 projecting horizontally from the base of the upstanding arm 31 having a spring 40 connected thereto which serves to return the feeds and associated parts after displacement.

It will be appreciated that b determining the sizes and disposition of t e cam pieces on thecam 22 relatively. to those on the cam 23- the length of the periods during which the thread feeds are maintained in either p0- be readting of the heel and toe, a' part o the main drum 1 having no cam rise coacts'with the control rod 2, which latter is thereby moved to displace the follower 5 from. the cam 6 serving to operate the sattern. or plating drum racking means, a said drum is retained stationary.

. It will be'a preciated that if the catch 34 is prevented rom passing beneath the arm 32 when the 'latter'is raised by the cam 26 and the feeds changed, saidarm 32 will be raised and lowered and thefeeds alternately displaced and returned to their normal osition every half revolution of the cam s aft 7, and as the shaft 7 rotates once to'every .irevolution of the machine cylinder, the feeds will be changed at; the completion of each half. course. r To accomplish thisa short comparatively high cam piece 1 on the main control drum 1 operates to move the control rod 2 further than when operated from thecam piece 1', and in so doing cause the two-armed lever 35 to be displacedito an extent suflicient to withdraw the catch 34 and maintain same in 2 pisition clear of the arm 32 of'the yarn ee To enable this to be effected, the end of the lower arm of the lever 35 accommodates and is movable upon a spindle 41 which projects laterally from an arm 42suitabl secured to an extension of the pin 4 of t e rotatable fork member 4 appertaining to the follower 5. (Fig; IV). A nut 43 adjustable upon the 65. spindle 41 is normally spaced from-the lever knitting in the foot sole.

35, and when the control rod 2 and follower 5' are moved by the smaller cam piece 1, said nut bears against but does not displace the lever. hen, however, the larger cam piece 1 comes into action, the follower 5 is piv otally displaced to a larger extent and the nut 43 pulls in the lever 35 to hold the catch 34 clear of the arm 32.

In knitting the foot, after producing the heel a predetermined number of courses are knitted wherein no rise occurs on the first cam 22 on the pattern or platingdrum 8 and the cam follower 25 operating the vertically sliding pin 27 to move the yarn feeds is held idle. These courses are followed by'a prede termined number of courses wherein a rise on the first cam 22 moves second cam follower 25 to operate said sliding in coacting with the yarn feed change'mem er. The courses wherein the sliding pin 27 is not operated alternate with those wherein same is operated. The camshaft. 7 actuating the cam followers makes one revolution per course, and the rise thereon coacting with the slidingpin is as before stated around 180, so that during one half of a revolution the sliding pin is raised to alter or reverse the position of the threads in the'foot upper, and during the second half of the revolution said pin is lowered to produce normal pattern or The main control drum preferably rotates to the extent of one revolution during the production of a complete stocking or sock.

' The parts 5, 25 of the two cam followers 5 and 25 which coact with the cams are preferably pivotally mounted so as to be capable of a lateral displacement in one direction, i. e. away from the respectivecams 6 and'26, thus enabling the main drum to be racked by hand without fear of damaging the followers or cams.

If desired, the half-round cam 26 may be formed in two halves, i. e. the cam is divided in the direction of its length, said two halves being relatively adjustable so as to ensure the exactrequired length of cam being obtained.

As before stated, any suitable yarn feeds or guides may be employed. In the drawings the one feed 29 is in the form of a small bore tube having a funnel-sha ed mouth said feed being carried by a pivote arm 44. This arm 44 is swung on its pivot by the displacement of the upstanding arm 31 through the medium of a suitably guided member 45 which coacts with a in 44 on the feed arm 44. Simultaneous y with the displacement of feed arm 44 a cam piece on the upstanding arm 31 coacts with a second feed arm 46 pivoted at rality of relatively displaceable parn feeds, a rotatable drum, a cam on said rum func-' 'tioningrelatively to dis lace the yarn feeds,

a second cam on said rum functioning to determine the return movement of said yarn feeds, automaticall operated means for hold ing theyarfifeeds in their displaced position prlor to their return to the normal position, and a main control means controlling the operation of the first-named drum.

2. In a circular knitting machine, a plurality of displaceable yarn feeds, a cam drum functioning as a pattern drum for controllin 'the relative movement and disposition of sai feeds a main control means, a third rotary cam evice, racking mechanism for the pattern drum, a displaceable cam follower 01perated at predetermined intervals from t e main control drum to coact with a cam on theg third cam device and bring into operation the a pattern drum racking device, a second dieplaceable cam follower coacting withsaid third cam device, and lever mechanism operable from the'pattern drum to cause the said I second cam follower to coact witha second cam on the said third cam device and in sodoing I tions of a plurality of the yarn feeds. I

3. In a circular knitting machine, a plurality of relatively displaceable yarn feeds,

.a cam drum functioning as a pattern drum for controlling the movement ofsaid yarn feeds, a main control means for determining the operative and ino crativeperiods of said pattern drum, a thir rotar cam device operating intermediate of t e mam control move through levermechanism a'second cam follower on to the second cam member on the third rotary cam device. and saidfollower when so moved efiectin relativea'displace' ment of the yarn feeds t rough the medium -7 of a sliding tappet, a stop member auto matically operated-by sprin meansto coact with an arm of the retain the feeds in t ing to'dis lace said stop and permit return of the fee 3 to their normal siti-on.

PERCIVALJARTHUR ENTLEYIY' eflect a change in the relative. posi-- I lyl'arn fee mechanism and e displaced position,and,

a second cam on the pattern drum function feo" means and the pattern drum, racking mecha' nism for the pattern drum, a camon the pattern drum, lever mechanism operated by the said cam of the attern drum, a cam appercam device, a cam taining to the third rotary follower moved by the said lever mechanism into positionto'be operated by the said cam I of the third rotary device, meansfor'causin displacement of the yarn guides, operate bg' said cam follower and a second cam on t e pattern drum servin' to determine-the; periods durin which sai feeds remain d splaced from t eir normal position.

4. In a circular knitting machine, a plurality of relatively displaceable yarn feeds, displacea pattern cam drum controllin ment of said feeds, a main contro means for determining the operative and inoperative periods of the pattern drum, the control of I member on the pattern rum operating to eflected through the intermediary fioe 

